The Art of Shadow Puppetry

K–12 Resource: Artmaking

Ready to experiment with light and make fun shadows on your wall? Join Jordan and learn how to create a shadow puppet show using light and paper

Grade Level K–2, 3–5
Subject Science, Visual Arts
Resource Type Artmaking

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Jordan: Hey everyone, Jordan here, let's dive into the magical world of shadow puppetry and create our own show about the shadow monster that Jessie saw on her bedroom wall.

Let's begin by creating a storyboard. This is my digital drawing, but you can just use paper and pencil to get your ideas across. In this story, I'll meet the shadow monster and ask them, “are you okay?” And the shadow monster will tell me that they're angry because a loud car and dog woke them up. So we decided to go get some ice cream to feel better, and the shadow monster's frown turns upside down and we become good friends.

Now that I have my story, let's make the puppet characters. To get started, we'll need scissors, shadow puppet templates, tape wooden sticks, or popsicle sticks, and if you wanna play with color, colorful cellophane, floss, and a pen. First, cut out the characters in the shadow puppet templates that match the story. You can also design your own characters on paper and cut those out. When cutting out the shadow monster, some tips to cut out the eyes and mouth is to fold it in half and cut along one side like this. Remember, it does not have to be perfect.

Now that all of our characters are cut out tape, popsicle sticks or wooden sticks to the characters so you can hold them. You can also experiment with colored cellophane and add color like red for the shadow monster's eyes and mouth. Pink for the ice cream, and even yellow stars.

Once they're done, let's practice our story with a flashlight and white wall and then bring our story to life.
Jordan puppet character: Are you okay?
Shadow puppet monster: Uh!!
[vroom sound and dog bark]
Jordan puppet character: I have an idea. You want some ice cream?
Jordan puppet character and monster: Yay. Yay.

About

Learning Objectives

With the help of Jordan and Henry Holmes Smith, Jessie learned how to turn a shadow monster into a friend. Now it’s your turn! Let’s dive into the magical world of shadow puppetry and create a shadow show featuring Jessie and her shadow monster/friend. Get ready to play with lights and shadows to bring your character to life!

Materials Needed

Cardboard or cardstock paper
Scissors
Shadow Puppet Template
Flashlight
Tape
Popsicle sticks
Shadow Puppet Storyboard Worksheet
Optional: Colored cellophane, wax paper, or tracing paper

Assignment

Watch a Video

Think about how shadows work in your everyday life. Watch the video Shapes and Shadows to see what happened to Jessie when she saw a shadow in her bedroom.

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[cricket chirps and sound of a car turning on, dogs barking and car tires screech]
[scary music]
Jessie: Hmm.
Jordan: Late night?
Jessie: Oh, sorry. Kind of. Yeah, I, I saw this really creepy face in my room last night, and I know it's not a real monster, but I couldn't figure out what it was.
Jordan: Oh, that sounds scary. I wonder if we can do some research about it?
Jessie: Oh, maybe. I think it happened when a car was passing by my room because I could see the light from the window.
Jordan: I think I heard someone talking about this cool photographer who used to work with light. Want to see what we can find?
Jessie: Sure. I'll try anything.
[upbeat music]
Jordan: All right, the curator said they should be in this room. Yeah, I think these must be it. Let's see, Henry Holmes Smith, these are it.
Jessie: Wow. These are great, but they're photographs?
Jordan: They are, let me check what this book said about how Smith created them. It says here to create these three works, Smith poured Karo corn syrup and water onto sheets of plexiglass.
[uplifting music]
After pouring the mixture onto the support, Smith beamed a spotlight through the plexiglass onto light sensitive paper, the resulting image is produced by the refraction of light through the liquid onto the glass, which has generated an exposure on the paper. So he wasn't taking photographs, he was pouring liquids to make photos?
Jessie: Yeah. That seems really complicated. But it makes sense if you think about the word “photograph”. “Photo” just means “light” and “graph” means “drawing”. So photograph would just be “light drawing”. Oh, it's like a photograph without a camera.
Jordan: Yeah! These are really cool.
Jessie: Yeah. I like this one. It's called… it's called “Cats dancing”.
Jordan: Oh, that's so cute. It's like they're holding hands.
Jessie: Oh yeah. I like these. Uh, it's called “Meeting”.
Jordan: They do look like two figures meeting.
Jessie: I really like these guys too.
Jordan: There's some more over there. Should we go check it out?
Jessie: Oh, sure.
Jordan: Okay, these look familiar. I think the book mentions them.
Jessie: Hmm. I don't really know what I'm looking at.
Jordan: These are called “Circles of Light”. They're a light study of circles and shadows cast by wire grids.
Jessie: Oh, so these are just shadows?
Jordan: Yeah! If you see right here, you can see these four circles are from this one beam of light.
Jessie: Oh, okay. So it's like a spotlight shining through the grids, creating those shadows on the wall.
Jordan: Yeah. And if you move the objects around, it would make different shadows.
Jessie: Oh, so you can make different shadows using both light and objects.
[ding sound]
Jordan, thank you so much!
Jordan: You're welcome.
Jessie: Oh, I have an experiment to set up. I'll see you soon.
Jordan: Okay.
Jessie: See you Monday.
Jordan: Bye.
[gentle music]
Jessie: Let's see.
[click of flashlight]
You were just a bunch of shadows, that's all. But I think you can be a friendly face now.

Play with Shadows and Light

Cut out a shape from cardboard or cardstock paper, and tape it to a popsicle stick.
Set up a white background, and grab a flashlight.
Shine the light onto the white background, and place your shape in front of the light.
Discuss or think about the following questions:
- What do you see on the white background?
- Why do you think this is happening?
- What happens when you move the shape closer to the light? What happens when you move it away?
- What would happen if you poked a hole in the cardboard or cardstock paper?

Optional Step

Add some color! Repeat the steps above, but this time, use different colored cellophane. You can also use wax paper or tracing paper to experiment with different shades of light.

Write a Shadow Puppet Story

Use the Shadow Puppet Story Worksheet to write a story about the “shadow monster” featured in Shapes and Shadows. Is it a friendly monster now?

Include yourself: If you’d like, add yourself to the story! Imagine how you would join the shadow monster on a magical adventure.
Be creative and have fun! Let your imagination soar as you craft a tale about the shadow monster. Enjoy the process!

Make the Characters

Complete one of the two options below:

Option 1: Design Your Own Characters

Identify all the characters in your story.
Outline your characters on cardboard or cardstock paper.
Cut out the characters along the outlines.

Remember what you learned in the previous step about light and shadows when designing your characters.

Option 2: Use Shadow Puppet Templates

Choose Shadow Puppet Templates that match your story characters.
Cut out the templates and trace them onto your cardboard or cardstock paper.
Cut out the traced shapes to create your characters.
Tape popsicle sticks to the characters.

Optional Step

Experiment with colored cellophane to add color based on your understanding of transparency.

Practice Makes Perfect

Time to perform your story for your class or partner! Remember to be a good audience member, and be quiet and respectful to each performer.

Glossary

Light wave

A light wave is like a magical dance that light does. It travels in waves, kind of like ripples in a pond, and it helps us see things around us.

Shadow

A dark area or shape formed when an object blocks light from a source, such as the sun, creating a contrast between the illuminated and shaded areas.

Extensions

Research shadow puppetry: People have used light and shadows to tell stories for over 2,000 years. Shadow puppetry is practiced worldwide, including in China, Syria, and many Southeast Asian countries. Dive into the history of shadow puppetry. Find out how different cultures use the properties of light to craft captivating stories with shadows. Share your discoveries! Present to your class how shadow puppetry has been a creative way to tell tales through shadows, enhancing your understanding of this ancient and global art form.
Create another show: Share the history of shadow puppetry using shadow puppetry.

Credits and Licensing

This page is licensed under the Creative Commons NonCommercial 4.0 International license. You are free to make use of these pages under the terms of this license. Note that individual elements or portions of a page (for example, a copyrighted image) may be excluded from the Creative Commons license. Excluded items are clearly identified.

The Art of Shadow Puppetry

Project Details

Transcript

Learning Objectives

Materials Needed

Watch a Video

Transcript

Play with Shadows and Light

Optional Step

Write a Shadow Puppet Story

Make the Characters

Option 1: Design Your Own Characters

Option 2: Use Shadow Puppet Templates

Optional Step

Practice Makes Perfect

Light wave

Shadow

Shadow Puppet Story Worksheet

Shadow Puppet Templates

Meet Henry Holmes Smith: A Photographer Drawing with Light

A Day in the Life of Our Shadows

Drawing with Light: Make Sun Prints

Explore Circles of Light

National Core Arts Standards

Next Generation Science Standards

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The Great Getty Bug Hunt

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Nature’s Pantry